Reviews

Hag - Forgotten folktales retold by Daisy Johnson, Daisy Johnson, Eimear McBride, Kirsty Logan

lezreadalot's review

4.0

Inherent in retelling is – at first – destruction. Breaking down from the inside out. Suggested is respect but what is really there is vengeance, violence, retribution, the allure of denigration.

3.5 stars. As with most anthologies, this was a mixed bag, but it's definitely a win overall. I really really adore the premise: taking little known folktales from the UK and seeing how different authors modernise/retell them. I love that this included quite a few queer authors and authors of colours. A few of the stories were really really striking and I'm going to think about them for a long time; a few others were more on the bland side, and I've already started to forget them. More hits than misses though!

I liked "The Sisters" for the exploration of how queerness is often treated in Caribbean families, grief, and the burden of forgiveness when you have grief hanging over you. Also sometimes I LOVE mess, and this delivered lesbian drama with beautiful writing. "Between Sea & Sky" had such gorgeous writing about the sea and landscape, a version of selkies I really adored, and I loved the device used to tell it: a mother in conversation with her child, her child in conversation with the reader. "The Tale of Kathleen" also has a narrator who speaks even more directly to the reader, and while she isn't in the story herself, she offers a lot of commentary. I don't always like that device, but I liked it here. This author took a really creative path towards modernising the folk tale. It still takes place hundreds of years ago, but our narrator is a modern woman, and I loved that. A lot of dark humour in that one, which I enjoyed. "A Retelling" is also a pretty unique take on the assignment, and it's infused with a lot of creeping dread and great imagery. "Sour Hall" was probably my favourite of the lot. Amazing story, well-realised characters. It was so wonderfully atmospheric, a really intimate and sometimes scary look at trauma, fear and grief, and two women trudging through it on this far-flung farm. That sense of mounting terror was so well written, and I LOVED the ending. It really had my heart.

Listened to the audio/podcast as read by several narrators, which were all wonderful. Standouts were Taj Atwal and Eimear McBride (who narrated her own story, and it was excellent). I loved all the sound effects used; it was great for both setting and just making things scarier. It was also great listening to the interview/conversation with the folktale professor after each of them, which gave some insight into the original story and was a chance for the authors to explain their processes/thoughts on their work. This was really great; I don't often look at the podcast section of Audible Plus, and I'm glad I happened upon this. 

Content warning:

Spoiler

recollection of rape/violence, miscarriage, parental homophobia, death